John Carmack thinks the Steam Machine’s biggest problem is Linux

Ever since Valve announced its three-tier approach to bringing PC gaming to the living room — Steam OS, the Steam Machine, and the Steam Controller — people have been divided on whether or not it’s a sound idea. John Carmack, a man who changed the face of PC gaming at Id Software, thinks the Steam Machine’s odds of succeeding are “a bit dicey.”

Once upon a time, Carmack — though regularly heralded as a PC gaming genius and visionary to this day — thought Valve’s digitial distribution platform, Steam, wasn’t the greatest of ideas. He points that out himself, but maintains that despite his previously incorrect prediction regarding one of Valve’s ambitious ideas, the Steam Machine still won’t be an instant hit. Rather than think the Steam Machine will travel down a rocky path because it’s basically just a regular PC, or because Valve has gone a little crazy, Carmack feels the biggest hurdle the Steam Machine faces is Linux.